Lu Chengze said, "These two great estates are Beast Taming Manor, famous for beast taming, and Spirit Sword Villa, renowned for sword forging. Although they rarely involve themselves in the affairs of the martial world, they are forces to be reckoned with. The Magical Beast Forest in the center of the Shuangmeng Continent stretches all the way to the northern region, and these two estates are located on the eastern and western edges of that northern forest. The three kingdoms are mainly entrenched in the southeastern part of the Shuangmeng Continent. Ranked by power, they are Yunqi Kingdom, Longyue Kingdom, and Lingyuan Kingdom. The coast where our spirit boat will eventually dock belongs to Yunqi Kingdom. As for the Four Great Families, they are the Gu Family, the Shangguan Family, our Lu Family, and the Nangong Family, a clan of merchants. Moving further west from the southeast coast is where the six major sects are located, separated from Shuangmeng Academy only by a long mountain range."
Murong Yunsheng asked, "If Shuangmeng Academy is that famous, doesn't that mean there are people from the Four Great Families studying there?"
"That's right!" Lu Chengze replied. "The Gu and Shangguan families have the most students there. As for the most famous ones, there are a few: Gu Zong, the eldest young master of the main Gu branch, entered Shuangmeng Academy two years ago. I hear he’s twenty years old this year and has already reached Level 9 Cyan Spirit. The second young master, Gu Tian, is nineteen and at Level 7 Cyan Spirit. A side-branch disciple, Gu Bang, is twenty-one and also at Level 7 Cyan Spirit. Then there’s the eldest miss of the Shangguan family, Shangguan Qianxue, who is nineteen and at Level 1 Blue Spirit; the eldest young master, Shangguan Rongxuan, nineteen and at Level 7 Cyan Spirit; and the sixth miss, Shangguan Lingzhu, eighteen and at Level 8 Cyan Spirit."
Murong Yunsheng fell silent. *Heh, it seems wiping out the Gu and Shangguan families won't be an easy task.*
Chiyun remarked, "You really intend to pull them up by their roots, don't you? Not leaving a single soul—total extermination?"
"Perhaps not entirely," Murong Yunsheng said. "But those old geezers who helped the evildoers back then all have to die. Tell me, if I were to kidnap the descendants their families are so proud of, do you think those old monsters would be so furious they'd drop dead on the spot?"
Chiyun’s mouth twitched uncontrollably. "Ugh..."
Chiyun asked, "So, you’ve decided to go to Shuangmeng Academy?"
"Not necessarily. I’ll wait and see," she replied. For now, cultivation was the priority.
Night fell.
Inside the void, Murong Yunsheng sat cross-legged by the spirit spring. The spirit energy from the water surged continuously into her dantian. Within this space, various forms of pure spirit power seemed to exist solely for her. She absorbed them without reservation; if an outsider were to witness this, they would be struck dumb. Generally, a Spirit Cultivator only possesses one spirit attribute and can only absorb that specific type of energy. Even those with great talent typically have only two or three. But to absorb every kind of spirit energy—that was something unheard of since the dawn of time.
The various energies gathered in her dantian and gradually became transparent. To the naked eye, her dantian looked completely empty. Furthermore, it seemed vast and boundless; the gathered spirit energy looked no larger than a single star in the night sky. Such transparent spirit power was something no one had ever seen before.
A month passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, Murong Yunsheng spent most of her time cultivating in the void, only emerging when her meals were delivered.
"Hum! Hum!"
Murong Yunsheng opened her eyes, which shone like stars, and checked her cultivation with satisfaction. Level 5 Blue Spirit—not bad at all.
Chiyun said, "The boat is about to dock. Do you want to go out and see? You’ll have to go to the Tianyuan Continent sooner or later."
Murong Yunsheng chuckled softly. "You mean the Xue Family? That clan of Sound Soul users?" It was, indeed, a very unique family.
"The Xue Family of the Central Continent," Murong Yunsheng continued. "They specialize in Sound Soul as their primary cultivation, with spirit power as a supplement. Sound Soul cultivation is a very peculiar method, and it relies heavily on talent. Some people spend their entire lives without making any progress. They use sound to attack, which makes them impossible to guard against. It is said that from the moment they begin their training, members of the Xue Family choose a Spirit Artifact related to musical instruments."
Chiyun warned, "The Xue Family is among the most difficult to deal with. At the very least, you cannot confront them head-on right now."
"I know, I know. One family at a time," she said. "I'm not in a hurry. Do you think I'm the type to act rashly? It's been so many years; a moment's haste won't change anything. If I make a mistake, all my efforts will be wasted, and there will be no chance to start over. I know how to be careful. After all, with my current strength, I can't take on those old monsters from the major families of the Central Continent."
Chiyun replied, "As long as you know. But don't be too intimidated by them—you still have me! If you can't beat them, I'll step in."
"Yes, yes, you're the best," she said. "Alright, enough talk. I’m going to Haiqiao City to see if I can buy some books about these continents. I can’t go on being completely blind to the world."
Chiyun sighed, "You really should read more. The only place you have any real understanding of is the Central Continent."
Murong Yunsheng glared. "Shut up. Once I buy them, you read them first."
"Why should I?" Chiyun, a majestic Divine Beast, was being forced to read books? If this got out, his reputation would be ruined!
"Because I need to cultivate! Where would I find the time?" she countered. "You read them, and if we run into something, you can explain it to me. Besides, it’s good to learn more, right? Broadens the mind?"
Chiyun was so angry he almost laughed. *She has it all figured out, doesn't she?* "I'm not reading them!!!"
"No reading, no food."
"What? No! Don't do this!" Chiyun felt as if he'd been struck by lightning. The girl’s cooking was truly extraordinary; if he were cut off from those meals, he would surely die of longing.
"So, will you read them or not?"
"I'll read them, okay? I'll read them! Tonight, I want shredded pork with garlic sauce, sweet and sour pork ribs, and fried pork strips..."
"You can only pick one."
Chiyun sprang up from the ground, pointing a trembling finger at Murong Yunsheng, threatening her viciously, "You're so heartless! Don't push me!"
"Then don't eat anything at all."
"Shredded pork with garlic sauce."
Murong Yunsheng wore a victorious smile. "That’s a good boy." She completely ignored Chiyun’s gnashing of teeth.